124 POULTRY BREEDING IN 



French breeds, and as regards sitters they are considered 

 as bad as the Spanish. 



9. CAPONAGE AND VIRGIN COCKS. 



There seems to exist a considerable difference of opinion 

 in various parts of France as to the necessity of castrat- 

 ing young cocks for fattening purposes. In some locali- 

 ties they pretend that when cocks are not allowed to 

 associate with the opposite sex, they will attain, when 

 fattened, a greater weight, and be much finer as regards 

 flavor of flesh ; others again say that when a cock is cas- 

 trated, it can be kept till a more mature age without 

 deteriorating its quality, and by this attain an extraordi- 

 nary weight when fattened, besides making them useful 

 as troop leaders of chickens, as before described. I can- 

 not decide which of the two systems is the best or most 

 advantageous, any more than I can decide about the two 

 systems of cramming, without making experiments ; this 

 much, however, I have noticed, that virgin cocks fatten 

 very readily, and fetch prices as high as capons. 



10. OPINIONS ON MY SYSTEM OF POULTRY BREED- 

 ING AND RURAL ECONOMY. 



Wherever I went and whenever I had an opportunity, 

 I promulgated my system of poultry breeding in connec- 

 tion with rural economy with a view to elicit opinions, 

 having been taught by experience that diversity of opinion 

 is the greatest stimulant to improvement and progress. 

 Without naming any individual opinion, I may state that, 



